Kentucky officials have announced they are filing a complaint against Kentucky Power for allegedly taking advantage of Kentucky ratepayers. The suit claims customers are being unfairly forced to pay for utility construction in other states.
Attorney General Russell Coleman and Kentucky Public Service Commission Chair Angie Hatton announced they are filing a complaint against American Electric Power and its subsidiary, Kentucky Power. The complaint claims that Kentucky Power customers contribute to a multistate arrangement that supports utility transmission investments in seven states, but that AEP is not investing and building equally across the states.
According to officials, Kentucky Power customers pay the highest average residential rate of any utility in Kentucky. In 2022, the average residential customer paid about $187.56 per month. Between 2017 and 2022, Kentucky Power customers subsidized an estimated $66 million of transmission investments in other states, exceeding the amount that was invested in the Commonwealth.
Kentucky Power serves approximately 165,000 customers in Boyd, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Greenup, Johnson, Knott, Lawrence, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan, Owsley, Perry, Pike, and Rowan counties.